March 1st

 Winter has been put in the cupboard.

Spring is on the shelf with the March plate having it's first outing. At first I could only find the two Beswick birds, then remembered the hare usually sits here for March ( the rest of the time he is on the other bookshelves), it still looked a little bare so after a bit of thinking I remembered the Flower Fairy book from the children's book shelves.....that'll do.

There are so many weather sayings in March. The time when farmers would have started to sow and prepare for the years growing they would be eager to have an idea of what the weather held for their crops.

 A peck of dust in March is worth a kings ransom

So many fogs in March, so many frosts in May 

A dry and cold March never begs for bread

These are the first lines of John Clare's Shepherd's Calendar for March

March month of many weathers wildly comes

In hail or snow and rain and threatening hums

And floods: while often at his cottage door

The shepherd stands to hear the distant roar

Loosed from the rushing mills and river locks

The long range forecast for the second half of March here says

"Confidence becomes very low for this period. However, the preferred scenario is that blocking high pressure will remain mostly dominant, increasing the probability of colder conditions compared to average. Spells of rain are more likely than of late, especially at first, with a chance of snow in some areas. Some wintry episodes may be disruptive due to the potential combination of snow and strong winds"

1st .......St David's Day and the first day of meteorological spring

Upon St David's Day

Put oats and barley in the clay

17th...........St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day, the warm side of a stone turns up,

and the broad-back goose begins to lay.  (??)

19th Fourth Sunday in Lent ........Mothering Sunday

20th........ Vernal Equinox, the start of Astronomical spring and the pagan celebration of Ostara

If a storm arises from the east on or before the spring equinox

or if a storm arise from any point of the compass about one week after the spring equinox

the summer is generally dry four out of five times.

25th..........Lady Day

 

An East wind on Lady Day

Will keep on till the end of May

26th.............Clocks Spring Forward for British Summer Time and it's Boat Race Day

Happy St David's Day to all my blog readers in or from Wales or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus!

Back Tomorrow

Sue